A Brief History of Austin Monthly

By Sarah Thurmond

Published: August 31, 2017

When Austin Monthly debuted in November 1992, it wasn’t actually called Austin Monthly. It was the South Austin News. Seeking to expand his revenue base, founding publisher Collin Barnes changed the name to Austin Monthly within a few months.

The city has transformed—and then some—since Austin Monthly began publication in 1992. The population has grown from 482,296 to more than 900,000, and the skyline is now, well, an actual skyline, with a new high-rise seeming to emerge every other month.

Austin Monthly began as a four-page, tabloid-size newsprint product. Founder Collin Barnes, who had previously worked in radio sales and owned an advertising agency, started the magazine as a way to make some cash and provide his existing clients with more exposure. He chose the name Austin Monthly because “every town needs a monthly,” he says. In the premiere issue, Barnes wrote: “What we will try to bring you is a look at the changing face of your town.” The first cover story was about a proposed freeway stretching from the Oak Hill YMCA to what was then Bergstrom Air Force Base (now the airport).

In those earliest days, advertisers provided most of the content, filling pages with advice columns on everything from law to finance to health. Stories ranged from discussing the gubernatorial race between Ann Richards and George Bush to Jazzercize as a way to relieve stress, to a feature on the Dallas Cowboys. “I was trying to find stories,” Barnes says. “I couldn’t get anybody to write for me
really. I took what I could get.”

Pages were laid out on a computer running an early version of Microsoft Windows. These were then physically cut and pasted together onto boards. Ten thousand free copies were distributed by throwing them into people’s yards, to the dismay of some homeowners.

After eight years, chasing the money wore Barnes down, so he sold the magazine. By then the content included longer profiles about beloved Austinites like Cactus Pryor and Liz Carpenter and stories that focused on issues affecting the city, such as affordable housing and population growth. There were also columns about Austin’s film and tech industries. The publication itself switched to a glossy format.

In late 2001, Jeff and Lyn Brady took over the publication after seeing a newspaper ad for the sale of a small magazine. They had no previous publishing background, but they worked as managing editor and publisher, respectively. Despite their inexperience, by November 2001 they had a cover story with Governor Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, and in May 2002 produced the first “Fun Things to Do” feature, which has been our most popular annual cover story ever since.

By the late 2000s, Austin Monthly was an award-winning city magazine, with in-depth profiles and coverage of subjects ranging from the impact of gentrification on the East Side to problems facing musicians. It’s our honor and pleasure to continue to serve the best city in the world and to help spur conversations about making it even better.